Moving between states / Colorado

Flag of UtahUtahtoFlag of ColoradoColorado, CNA

Moving from Utah to Colorado as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Utah has to do to work in Colorado, what the move does to your pay, and who in Colorado is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Utah certificate stays on the Utah Nursing Assistant Registry (Utah Department of Health and Human Services); to work in Colorado you apply to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

What the move does to your paycheck

Utah and Colorado take about the same from a $60,000 salary; the difference is under $150 a year either way.

SalaryUtah state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,800$1,760+$40
$60,000$2,700$2,640+$60
$90,000$4,050$3,960+$90

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

RN and LPN: Utah to Colorado

Works on day one. Both Utah and Colorado are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Utah is valid in Colorado the day you arrive. Once Colorado is your primary residence, apply there for a Colorado multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Utah to Colorado

Reciprocity likely. Colorado licenses electricians at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), and endorsement for journeymen licensed in a state with a comparable exam and a year of licensed work. Your Utah licence comes from the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Utah to Colorado

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Colorado resident you surrender the Utah CDL at a Colorado driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Colorado. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in Colorado pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Openings filed in Colorado

125 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Colorado employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Utah to Colorado

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Colorado employers.

Plan my move to Colorado

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Utah to Colorado · Electrician: Utah to Colorado · Truck driver: Utah to Colorado · All licences: Utah to Colorado

From Utah to the states next to Colorado

Wyoming (no state income tax) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · Kansas (progressive, top rate 5.58%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to Utah

Idaho · Wyoming · New Mexico · Arizona · Nevada

Everything about working in Colorado · All moves between states · All 50 states

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Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

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